Sanskrit won’t disqualify any child from taking Class X board: Centre

The HRD ministry gave this undertaking after counsel for some parents, Reena Singh, told a bench of Justices A R Dave and Kurian Joseph that students and parents were in utter confusion after the Centre informed the court that there would be no examination for Sanskrit this year because of the mid-term switch.

She said those students who had studied German in Class VI and VII and were due to appear for the German exam this year in Class VIII might find themselves disqualified for the Class X board examination, which requires the student to pass the language paper in all three classes.Since Class VIII students were forced to take up Sanskrit, for which there would be no examination, they would not qualify for the Class X board, Singh said. The bench asked attorney general Mukul Rohatgi to take instructions from the HRD ministry on the concerns raised by parents.

Rohatgi said Class X board examination was optional now. But he added, “No student will be disqualified because of mid-stream introduction of Sanskrit, for which there will be no examination this year. The marks obtained by the student in Class VI and VII alone would be taken into consideration as far as Class X board is concerned.”

The AG also clarified that the decision to introduce Sanskrit was implemented and there was no going back on it. However, the bench asked Rohatgi to seek clarification on the concerns raised by parents and posted the matter for hearing on December 16. The court wanted the KV Sangathan to consult the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) on this issue and inform the court about it.Source: The Times of India